napa

Napa SmithWheat is a perfect baking beer. It has crisp, clean flavors, sweetness and bold tones that hold up to the oven. A smooth wheat beer with citrus and peach notes.

I enjoyed this beer, the baking, the drinking, the flavors. It was an easy beer to enjoy and gave me a sense of the brewery. Relaxed, comfortable and welcoming. I’ve lived in California most of my life, and traveled all over the world and I have a firm believe that Napa is a place that needs to be experienced, a beautiful escape from the rest of reality. Winding along the back roads of Napa county, meeting locals, sampling the local food, drinks, produce…You’ll feel like you are living in a distant land far away from the life you know. In Napa, people love to eat, drink and cook with only local ingredients. It’s charming, as if Napa could exist all on it’s own. A little bubble, a snow globe of a world, swirling around itself filled with fresh-baked bread, handmade pies and locally sourced beer.

Salted Hefeweizen Brioche Rolls

1/2 cup room temperature Hefeweizen Beer (Napa Smith Wheat Preferred)

1 envelope of dry active yeast (1/4 oz)

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoons sea salt,

3 large eggs

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Topping:

1 tbs melted butter

1 tbs sea salt

Add the beer to a microwave safe container heat in the microwave for 10 seconds, test the temperature (you want it between 105 and 110) and repeat until the desired temperature is reached. Put the beer in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Sprinkle the yeast on top and allow it to get foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add the flour, salt and sugar and mix on low with the dough hook attachment until shaggy, flaky lumps form (about 1 1/2 minutes).

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined.

Add the softened butter (softened is important), beat until the dough gathers around the hook and is smooth and shiny.

Coat the inside of a bowl with olive oil and place the dough ball in inside.

Wrap with plastic wrap leave in a warm place until it’s double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Grab the dough at the sides until it has deflated.

Allow to rise a second time at room temperature, until it has doubled in size, deflating every 15 minutes by grabbing the sides, about 45 minutes.

Remove from the bowl and place on a floured surface, shape into a long log, about 4 inches wide and 1 foot long.

Using a sharp knife, cut in 3 equal sized pieces.

Then cut each of those pieces in half (you will now have 6 pieces.)

Now cut each of those pieces in half and you will have 12 equal sized pieces.

Each of these pieces will be a roll, but you have to make some more cuts first.

Cut each slice into 3 equal sized pieces, rolling each into a ball and placing all three into the same well of a greased muffin tin. Repeat for each slice.

Cover with plastic wrap, place in the fridge and allow to double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle generously with sea salt. This is when you break out the fanciest salt you have. Or buy some just for the occasion.

Preheat the oven to 400. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.